Q: I’m using a public computer to do my research. How should I store my digital research documents?
Q: I’m using my USB to transfer my business planning files from my laptop to my main computer. Sometimes I just open my business plan and work directly from the USB and in the last week I’ve gotten very confused and lost work by overwriting newer files with older ones. Help?!
Q: How should I name my files? If I edit a file I like to give it a new name but now I have a dozen of the same document with different names and don’t know which way is up!
Q: I’m using a public computer to do my research. How should I store my digital research documents?
We recommend using a USB or writing to a CD or DVD. You can also print (hard copy) or email the links or attached documents to your own email address (or a friend’s email address).
Q: I’m using my USB to transfer my business planning files from my laptop to my main computer. Sometimes I just open my business plan and work directly from the USB and in the last week I’ve gotten very confused and lost work by overwriting newer files with older ones. Help?!
USB’s are a wonderful convenience, the only downside is that it’s easy to get confused the way you have. Here are a couple of suggestions.
- Never work directly from the USB. If the information on the USB is newer than the computer (or laptop) you’re working from – before doing any work in the file(s), first transfer the information from the USB to the hard drive of the computer.
- Always save the files to the same place (this means the same folder, using the same file name).
- When you attempt to save files with the same name as those already in the folder, a window will pop up, asking if you’re sure you want to save the file – this window also clarifies which file is older and gives you the opportunity to cancel.
- Make it a habit to always work from the hard drive of the computer you’re working from, and if you want to backup or transfer the files when finished a session, only copy the updated files over to the USB after you’re done for the day or the session.
Q: How should I name my files? If I edit a file I like to give it a new name but now I have a dozen of the same document with different names and don’t know which way is up!
File naming is a critical part of efficient retrieval. First of all, make sure you create a logical set of file folders in which to store your files. The problem of having a number of files with different names is best if caught early. Ideally, you would organize this before the problem appears, but almost nobody does. Let’s use the business planning folder as an example.
In your business planning folder, you are likely to have some broad categories, each of which lends itself to being a folder. For example:
– Business plan
– Financial
-Appendices
-Research
-Holding
In the Business Plan folder, you will likely have older and newer versions of the business plan document. We suggest naming the files as follows <business name_business plan_date), for example we would name our files like this …
Macrolink_Business Plan_2010-05-17
Macrolink_Business Plan_2010-06-11
Macrolink_Business Plan_2010-07-24
The same strategy can also work well for your other folders. The key is to make the entire name consistent (it’s easiest to copy the older name and then alter the date), then the system automatically organizes the files according to the date. When you return to the folder, you will always know which are the most recent files.
For the Appendices folder, we suggest creating folders within for each of the Appendices you will attach to your business plan, and then using the same strategy as above within each folder.
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Email us at faqs@riskbuster.com
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